By Jackson Teal
A small clap, maybe even a little grin, and it’s time for the next play. All the noise doesn’t matter ….
Jackson Wors, a senior basketball player, doesn’t need to celebrate. He just wants to win by doing whatever it takes.
“I don’t need to go out there and be flashy or make a highlight,” Wors said. ”I block all that out. I just get back down the court and focus on the upcoming play.”
Wors recently became the 10th guy in the 57-year history of Delta High School to join the 1,000-Point Club.
These players have scored at least 1,000 varsity points throughout high school.
He celebrated his newfound membership of the club with a simple lunch with his family.
“At that moment, they were all I needed,” he said. “I knew they were proud of my accomplishment, and that’s all that mattered.”
At the beginning of his journey to 1,000, he played his opening season on varsity as a Blackford Bruin.
Blackford wasn’t the right fit for him at the time to achieve the high goals he had set for himself.
“I was looking for a program that would bring me better opportunities, and Delta just stood out to me as that place,” Wors said.
As Wors became an Eagle in his sophomore season, he flowed into a starting role on the varsity team.
Even as a sophomore Wors was the Eagles’ second-leading scorer, scoring 333 points.
However, that season’s accomplishments did not satisfy him; they only fed into his hunger to achieve his goals.
“There’s definitely a lot of work that goes in behind the scenes with going to practice, going to shoot even when people aren’t around,” Wors said. “You also have to lift and be in the gym constantly.”
This offseason work paid off in a large way for him and for the team a year ago. They became regional champions for only the fourth time in school history and made it to semi-state for the first time since 2009.
The accomplishments of the season also came with some intense drawbacks for Wors.
He was playing through many different injuries to his shoulder, primarily a torn labrum.
He didn’t let this injury stop him, however.
“There’s certain things that you just have to suck it up sometimes and not be a baby about it especially when the season is on the line,” Wors said.
Even with this ongoing battle throughout the season he managed to average 14 points per game and end the season with 379 points, maintaining his role as one of the top scorers on the team.
The offseason wasn’t the end of his struggle with his shoulder. A doctor told him he would need to undergo a “Hagl lesion” to repair his shoulder.
A Hagl lesion is a procedure where the torn ligament (the labrum) is vacuumed out entirely, and doctors form a new labrum out of bone.
This surgery kept him stuck at home in a chair for two months in the summer of his last ride as an Eagle.
Going through a major operation like that raised some worries about how the procedure would affect his game and his chances of reaching 1,000 career points.
Varsity head coach Mark Detweiler always kept his faith in him, however.
“I knew he would be able to come back and be the same Jackson we’ve previously seen and easily crush that milestone,” Detweiler said.
Even with the injury he continued to have a strong supporting cast with his family, teammates and coaches.
With the confidence they invested in him pairing with his own self-confidence and consistency in his recuperation he was able to come back and punch his ticket into the club.
After his off-season rehabilitation he was able to come back at the beginning of the season without missing major minutes on the court.
Finally, on Dec. 27 versus Winchester in the Holiday Classic, he scored his 1,000th career point following in the footsteps of the last 1,000-point scorer Brady Hunt, who achieved the feat versus Winchester as well.
Although this was a big accomplishment Wors has other things on his mind. He’s currently pursuing his last chance to make a deep state run.
“We want to make it to state this time,” he said. “Last year we came up short and this year we want to go all the way.”
He plans to maintain his calm composure going in this time of season and also pass that torch to some of his teammates.
Senior Jonny Manor has been teammates with him since he moved to Delta.
“The way he helps us stay calm through the ups and downs helped us last year in the state run and it should this year as well,” Manor said.
Although leading by example is a big part of Jackson’s role on and off the court he also has another weight on his shoulders. He needs to go out there and put up some points.
“He plays with a lot of poise and I think that’s why you see him in big game environments not worrying about anything,” Coach Detweiler said. ”The moments are never too big for him, and I think that will help him score points which will win us some games.”
Joining the 1,000 point club was a momentous event for Jackson, but his career isn’t over and he’s not satisfied just yet.
